Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is the second console launched by Microsoft and is part of the seventh generation of consoles, along with the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3. Streamlined console from Microsoft was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005 and was later detailed in E32005. The video game has great features like Netfix (USA Only), Sky TV and BT Vision (UK Only). Xbox Live The internet service of the Xbox 360 has major improvements compared to the Xbox. The service can be used only by users who have a subscription to Xbox Live. For those who want to participate, you can keep the silver, but who wants to play online and earn more credit options, gets the signature gold (paid). On Xbox Live, can be found for download full games, demos, music videos, video games and so on. Inside the Xbox Live, you can chat with other users, chat on MSN, send messages, invite people to join your group of friends, ask the person to play online and then create a group of people when playing. Leaderboards In 95% of online games for Xbox 360, the system goes into action Leaderboards. This system shows the best players in the world, depending on the game, from a Category and so on. The best player in the world gains prominence on the rankings of the game and many compliments Curiosity . New Xbox Experience At E3 2008, Microsoft announced that all Xbox 360 owners would receive a new dashboard update, titled New Xbox Experience (NXE), on November 19, 2008 that has added many new features. Though the new interface is generally downloaded when a new Xbox is connected to Xbox Live, some games, including Fight Night 4, will also update it. One feature is the ability to watch standard quality and 720p streaming movies and TV shows from Netflix, through the Xbox 360. This feature is exclusive to Xbox Live Gold members in the USA with Netflix Unlimited. Recently added, users are able to watch Netflix titles with their friends in a party with up to 8 players. Xbox Live members have the ability to view over 12,000 movies and episodes. Users can browse for titles based on their interests and Netflix ratings with the Xbox interface. Users no longer need to visit the website to choose the content to watch. When a player parties up with a group, they also have the ability to join games together, chat together or view a slideshow of photos. Another feature gives players the ability to create Avatars. Players are able to customize avatars by changing body shape, facial features, hair and clothes, as well as new clothing being released from time to time. Xbox Live requires that users select an avatar. Another feature is the ability to install an entire game disc onto the Xbox 360's hard drive, which decreases loading times, and significantly reduces noise due to the game being read from the hard drive and not the louder disc drive (similar to the PS2 HD LOADER Feature). For most games this feature also reduces the amount of time spent reading the disc, therefore helping to extend the life-span of the optical drive mechanism. During the Press Conference at E3, Microsoft announced Xbox Live Primetime, a series of scheduled programs where Xbox Live members can play against each other. The first announced game is an adaptation of the Endemol game show 1 vs. 100 in which one Xbox Live member will play against 100 other members with a live host and prizes awarded. This service is currently in an open beta in Canada and the United States. The Xbox Guide has also been redesigned. Players are not only able to view their friends and messages, but are able to access their game library. If a user has installed any game onto their Xbox 360 Hard drive, they are able to immediately start the game from the guide, whether they are in a game or in the dashboard. Microsoft also confirmed that every new 360 comes with 3 free Xbox Live Gold trial accounts, upon creating a new account the player is allowed to claim a trial period upon refusing to pay for Gold subscription; therefore allowing the user to try online gameplay for that one month trial period, after which the player is required to pay subscription fees to continue matchmaking online. Major Nelson also announced that the update supports 16:10 on VGA or HDMI, expanding the choice of resolutions. While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, this is the first update to require a storage device. The update requires at least 128MB free space on either a memory card or a hard drive. Microsoft has stated that many Core or Arcade users will not have sufficient space on their limited memory cards for the new update and thus provided them with a free 512MB memory card or a discounted 20GB hard drive for a limited time. This promotion has since ended and all new arcade units now come with 512MB of internal memory. The NXE was leaked onto Torrent sites and could be installed via a USB drive. Microsoft's Major Nelson stated that unauthorized installation of NXE would result in the users console being banned from Xbox Live until its official release which was on November 19, 2008. Three New Features On November 19 Microsoft updated the Xbox 360 with 3 brand new updates. Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm were added with access availiable to all Xbox Live Gold Subscribers. At first these features were only available to adult (18+) accounts, which caused controversy within the Xbox 360 Community with many users being under the age of 18. However, Microsoft have since launched these for under 18s, but permission has to be authorised by the parent account (using the parent's password. Facebook has several features missing from the main web address domain, users are at the present only able to; -Update Statuses, -Comment and Like friends statuses, -View their own and friends pictures There are also some features on the Xbox 360 that are not included in the main website; -Xbox Live Friend Finder (Lets you see which Facebook friends use Xbox Live) -Facebook Friend Finder (Lets you see which Xbox Live friends use Facebook) Category:Systems